new member

[michael grady]

Good morning gentleman..

I just joined the forum last evening and wanted to introduce myself.

I am a retired doc and have been interested - by with VERY little knowledge of German, WWII era lugers for many years.

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I'd like to begin exploring/collecting this item.

I have just order Random Lugers and am anxious to begin research.

I live in the Atlanta area and was wondering if there are any members who live in the area that would be willing to sit and chat with me - offer pointers on purchase etc.???

Thanks for your time!

Michael Grady
Oxford, Ga

[lugerholsterrepair]

Michael, congratulations!~ Welcome to the Luger Forum. Lugers At Random is a good basic book but there are many better ones. Central Powers by Jan Still is still in print and is a fascinating book. ..they are a great place to start learning.

[Edward Tinker]

Michael, there is a lot of information here on the forum, plus book recommendations and book reviews.

Right here in this part of the forum http://forum.lugerforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133 is a lot of 'stickies' which are postings that we felt were useful for beginners. Be AWARE that some books are cheaper and easy to get and are not very good books...

Most people buy a luger and go from there. Some people have 'extra' money and buy, buy, buy and end up with 'pretty' guns that may not be accurate or correct.

One thing is to figure out if you want an 'example' or you want an 'era' of luger(s), i.e. commercial, WW1, Weimar, WW2, etc.

Ed

[CAP Black]

This is a sound piece of advice on this forum somewhere that goes something like this: Purchase some books and gain some knowledge before you jump into buying guns. It's a hobby or a business for those who "learn" before they "burn" their finances.
Jack

[michael grady]

Thanks guys...Sounds like very good advice. I am also restoring a 1917 Model T. I got very similar advice as I approached that hobby. I'm thinking we must be getting wisdom as we age, no?

I'll keep reading and ask for advice before buying one. I'm assuming, like model t's, there are actually quite a few out there to be had?

I'll order the other recomended books as well.

Any place you guys could suggest I go for a weekend or 1 day trip to see a lot of these guns and get more info on a one on one basis? Is there a "Luger Museum"?

Thanks again!

Michael

[mrerick]

Hi Michael, welcome to the site and acting upon your interest in Luger pistols.

They are fascinating from so many points of view. History, industrial age technology, business operations in Europe, politics, etc...

The reference books are generally issued in limited editions, and quite expensive. I think of them as "Luger University" and recommend study. You pay Luger University tuition by purchasing books, or by making mistakes purchasing Lugers.

A good, if older, introduction is called "The Luger Story" by John Walters. It's out of print now, but you may find is used through Amazon or Abe Books online. As with anything in this field, the information ages as new things are discovered.

The Jan Still books are collector references covering the Luger eras. Costly but considered essential for the eras covered.

It's a good idea to decide on one of the eras (Early Lugers; Imperial (WW-I) Weimar, WW-II, Post WW-II and start your focus there.

"The Mauser Parabellum" is a good overview and collector reference by Hallock and Van Der Kant. It covers the Mauser manufacturing period. "The Parabellum Is Back" is a good post WW-II reference.

Bobba published a beautifully illustrated book on the Swiss Luger that is still available new. See Abe Books and the DEA Store in Rome for copies.

Lugers at Random is interesting, if dated. Ed Tinker's book on Simson Lugers is an essential reference for those pistols. There is a good collector reference for Krieghoff Parabellum pistols published by the family.

I know of no museums that focus on Lugers in the USA. There are European museums like the Oberndorf am Neckar museum that focuses on Mauser and the Swiss Arms museum at the Bern armory that have good historic collections that include Lugers. In the US, the NRA museum has at some, but it's not their focus.

An online virtual museum for Lugers would be an interesting project. Something with good photographs and historic information. This site has interesting information...

Marc

[lugerholsterrepair]

The "Show of Shows" is coming up..and would be better than any museum I can think of. You could spend 2-3 days looking at Lugers and talking to knowledgable Luger guys.

February 23-26, 2012

1,622 Table International Militaria Show

IF it's Militaria, It will be THERE!

Documents, Books, Uniforms, Edged Weapons,
Helmets, Medals & Decorations, Military antique
firearms, And MUCH, MUCH More!

MEET FAMOUS MILITARY VETERANS FROM THE PAST

The Place:

Kentucky Exposition Center
South Wing B
I-264: Exit 11 · I-65: Exit 131-B
Louisville, Kentucky

[michael grady]

Jerry and Marc...Thanks so much for the kind help. I'll order the Jan Still books and will definitely plan to attend the Louisville show. I may ask for some help as the date (of the show) gets closer and my knowledge base grows from reading.

My knee jerk reaction is to focus on the WWII era specimens.

Kind regards,

Michael

[lugerholsterrepair]

Michael..It would be difficult to make an informed choice without further study.
Remember that the 100 year anniversary of WW1 will be coming along in a short two years..Interest in WW1 Lugers will undoubtably be at a high point when that happens! Not only that but WW1 weapons are much more interesting..what with unit marks and weapons not found in the WW2 stable like the Imperial Navy and Artillery complete with 32 round snail drums and stocks!
Read and study first..then you will know better what direction to take.

[guns3545]

Originally Posted by michael grady

Thanks guys...Sounds like very good advice. I am also restoring a 1917 Model T. I got very similar advice as I approached that hobby. I'm thinking we must be getting wisdom as we age, no?

I'll keep reading and ask for advice before buying one. I'm assuming, like model t's, there are actually quite a few out there to be had?

I'll order the other recomended books as well.

Any place you guys could suggest I go for a weekend or 1 day trip to see a lot of these guns and get more info on a one on one basis? Is there a "Luger Museum"?

Thanks again!

Michael

Michael,

Welcome to the Forum.

Having started collecting Lugers in 1961 and having made a lot of silly decisions, perhaps I am qualified to pass on a few words of advice before you run out and buy a lot of books.

First collecting Lugers can get very complicated. Plus expensive and prone to making mistakes if you are not "informed". There are almost 500 variations and sub-variations of the Luger.

1. First word of advice: Don't try to collect them all as I tried back in the 60s. Its truly an impossible task to do it right and effectively. You cannot be an expert in everything so specialization really helps.

2. Review the categories on this board. You see they span every era from the invention of the Luger and its early variations to the uses of the Luger in the Post World War II era. And everything else in between. Review some of the Posts. Each era has its own story and personality.

3. Find an era or theme that interests you. Buy the books that support that manufacturer or era. Become active in the sections of the Boards that support your interests and buy the books about the era and/or manufacturer in which you have an interest. You'll progress a lot lot faster and develop the expertise and experience that is required much faster.

I started trying to do everything and my collection ranges from the earliest Lugers made to the last ones. After about 25 years and about a third of the way to collecting all variations, luckily, a couple of my Luger collector friends persuaded me that trying to collect every variation was a virtually impossible task. I decided to concentrate on the Mauser era as well as Krieghoffs. I still have everything I managed to collect over almost 50 years but today only actively collect Mausers and HKs. And...most importantly, today I feel much more comfortable in what I am doing and in what I have achieved.

Bottom line: Focus is important.

You will find a lot of charlatans out there and sadly the prices of Lugers has grown to a point where it is worthwhile to create fakes or "improve" poor guns. That's the bad news.

The good news is that this board and the other Luger board are supported by many members who are truly experts in their field. After a few weeks "lurking" on the boards, it will be clear who are the true resources and who can help you.

The National Firearms Museum in Fairfax Virginia has a nice collection of guns. Visited there this summer. New Orleans has the Norton Museum and the WWII museum. Always interesting.

In Europe, there are several venues which have extensive Luger collections. The best are in Switzerland (the old museum has moved from Bern to the RUAG site and is tremendous, especially for early guns as Switzerland was the first country to adopt the Luger) and Germany.

Hope this helps and good luck collecting.

John

[michael grady]

Hi John,

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful post! I will heed you advice and am sure we will be bumping into each other on the forum.

BTW, to everyone...Merry Christmas!

Michael

[zombeer]

Be sure to get yourself a cheap one that you can play around with as well!